Tim Sheehy, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana, finally admitted making "insensitive" remarks about Native people during a televised debate on September 30, 2024.
"But the reality is, yeah, insensitive," Sheehy said on the Montana PBS debate in Missoula. "I come from the military -- as many of our tribal members do. You know, we make insensitive jokes and probably off-color sometimes."
"And, you know, I'm an adult. I'll take accountability for that," Sheehy continued, before pivoting to an entirely different subject -- the U.S. border.
"But let's not distract from the issues that our tribal communities are suffering," Sheehy said, failing to explain why he perpetuated stereotypes about Native people and alcohol.
And while Sheehy said he was taking "accountability" for his statement about Native people, he refused to commit to the one thing that tribal leaders have been asking since Char-Koosta News first reported them on August 29, 2024. He declined to issue an apology, despite being pressed twice by Sen. Jon Tester, the incumbent Democratic candidate.
"But let's talk about our Native Americans here for a second, Tim," said Tester, who is a former chair and vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. "The statement you made degrades Native Americans across this country. And you can say, look, I'll take responsibility. But, you know, apologies matter. And how you treat people matter."
"And if you treat them with disrespect, other people will disrespect them," Tester continued. "So, like I said to begin with, you're a big guy. Just apologize."
Sheehy ignored the request and again shifted to the border.
"Will you apologize for opening the border?" Sheehy said to Tester.
Sheehy has repeatedly been asked about remarks in which he linked Native people to alcohol. He described them as being "drunk at 8am" and said they throw beer cans at people.
But up until the debate, Sheehy and his campaign refused to respond to media inquiries about the subject. When he addressed the issue on Fox News on September 20, 2024, he suggested that his remarks had somehow been edited to make him sound "evil" and didn't acknowledge the substance of the comments.